Tearful farewell given to Padmapriya

Udupi, Jun 17: The body of Padmapriya, the wife of Udupi BJP MLA K Raghupathy Bhat, who was found dead in a Delhi apartment after going missing from her Udupi home last week, was creamated here this afternoon.

Earlier, the body was flown to Mangalore this afternoon from the state capital, after it was brought from Delhi last night. An inconsolable Mr. Bhat and his two minor sons Rohan and Rahul lit the pyre. At one stage, Mr. Bhat who failed to overcome by the grief, fainted at the cremation ground. BJP MLC Capt Ganesh Karnik, party's Byndoor MLA Laxminaraya, BJP MP from Udupi Ms. Manorama Madhwaraj, former MP from Udupi and the Congress leader Vinaykumar Sorake, P Shakunthala Shetty and Fr.Mathew Vas, the priest of Mother of Sorrows Church, Udupi, were among those dignitaries who visited Mr. Bhat house after the body was brought home. The mother of Padmapriya, Prema Rao, who had fallen ill after hearing her daughter's death was brought along with a doctor of the private hospital. She came in an ambulance and soon after she saw the face of her daughter was immediately taken back to the hospital.

A large number of well-wishers of the family and BJP workers were gathered at Karambally home of Mr Bhat, to receive the body.

Despite heavy rain before the cremation, the people who gathered did not move from the spot. The police were seen trying hard to control the people.

Earlier, Mr Ramesh Bagitthaya, elder brother of Mr Bhat who accompanied the body along with the MLA from Delhi said that there was no differences between the husband and the wife as reported in the media.

Padmapriya who was missing from her house from June 11 was found hanging from ceiling in a flat in Dwaraka on June 15 night when the locked door was broke open by the police team in the presence of the Delhi police.

Meanwhile, Police refused to confirm whether Atul Kumar, a friend of Mr Bhat who helped Padmapriya to reach Delhi, was arrested by the Delhi police or not.

He continues to be in Delhi 'cooperating' with the police in the investigations. Three teams of police from the state -- one each from Mangalore, Udupi and Bangalore, are jointly working with the Delhi police in investigations.